Which to use
“contraten” and “controlen” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,432
- “contraten” frequency rank
- #33,042
- “controlen” frequency rank
- 68474
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contraten | controlen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de contratar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de controlar o de controlarse. |
Where the eye mixes contraten and controlen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. contraten and controlen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between contraten and controlen
A purely visual mix-up. contraten ([kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪ẽn]) and controlen ([kõn̪ˈt̪ɾolẽn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68474, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contraten is recorded at frequency rank #35,432, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪ẽn]. controlen is at rank #33,042, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾolẽn].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 68474, this pair ranks #34,396 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of contraten vs controlen
Shared letters: cenort. Private to "contraten": a. Private to "controlen": l.
"contraten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC · "controlen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "contraten" and "controlen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "contraten" or "controlen"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "contraten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "controlen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #34,396 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contraten" and "controlen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contrastan vs contraten". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #34,396 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.